Love is in the Air
by littledoggy
Summary: Valentine’s Day spells roses, confessions and tying of knots. Is that true? Well, we shall find out...now. TWOSHOT
1. Chapter 1

Well, nothing much to say, except enjoy and Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

On, and I've decided that this will be the fan fiction you requested, **Xian-pyon.** I'm afraid I might not be able to make another one on time. I assure you that I'll try my best to meet your terms.

Summary:

Valentine's Day spells roses, confessions and tying of knots. Is that true? Well, we shall find out now….

Mikan's batch: 13 years old.

….

**.;"Love Is In The Air",.**

"Hey, Hotaru."

_Munch, munch_.

"Hotaru, are you listening?" Mikan asked exasperatedly, whirling around to meet her friend in the eye.

_Chomp. Munch._

Upon receiving no reply, the brunette waved a hand in front of Hotaru's face. Unfortunately, being the clumsy girl she was, Mikan knocked away the cake Hotaru held in her hand.

"Oops." Mikan gulped. Her friend turned her head slowly. Violet eyes rested on the female before her, scrutinizing her with an amazing coolness that left Mikan in a puddle of perspiration.

_BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!_

"ITAI!"

"That's for wasting my cake," Hotaru murmured and walked away, leaving her friend in the dust.

"You're so evil, Hotaru!" the brunette yelled after her friend's retreating back. Suddenly, something swooped down to hit her squarely in the face, eliciting a cry of pain and surprise.

"What's this?" she murmured, pulling the thing off her face to get a better look at it. It was a beautifully decorated card of a shocking pink colour, with a big heart set in the centre.

'_Happy Valentine's Day_!' It read in big golden letters.

"Er, if you don't mind, can you return that card to me?" a girl asked shyly. Mikan looked up to see a young girl a few years her junior with fair hair and deep blue eyes.

"What, this?" The brunette held up the card in her hand. "Here you go!"

The girl smiled gratefully and received it, not forgetting to help Mikan up before she left.

"Thank you," Mikan said, brushing dust off her skirt. "By the way, what is that card for?"

The latter opened her mouth to answer, but was distracted at the last minute by a passing boy. She flushed scarlet, muttered a hasty 'goodbye' and ran off to meet him. Mikan saw her twiddle her thumbs nervously as she went up to him, head bent down so that her fringe covered her eyes.

Why? That was not the first time Mikan had witnessed the scene, either. Throughout the morning, students had confronted those of the opposite sex and stumbled over their words like young children do over the letters of the alphabet. Some girls came out of it teary and heartbroken, whereas others jumped for joy and hugged the boys for no apparent reason.

As for the boys…they were thrilled. Well, some of them, anyway. Natsume Hyuuga was an exception.

Before her very eyes, she had seen him ignore countless fan girls, ranging from those who were head-over-heels in love with him to those who had but a mere crush on the dashing fire alice. He looked extremely pissed off, she recalled.

And why were they doing this again? Her mind drifted back to the card she had held earlier. _Valentine's Day…_

"What IS Valentine's Day?" Mikan wondered aloud. Her train of thoughts screeched to a halt when someone lunged at her and proceeded to shake her teeth out of her head.

"MIKAN SAKURA!" Sumire stormed, baring her teeth ferociously in front of Mikan's face. "Do you mean to tell me that you don't know what Valentine's Day is when you've studied here since you were ten?!"

"Er. Can you tell me what it is?" the latter squeaked.

"Hmph. I shall not give you the pleasure of understanding the importance of this very special day," Sumire snorted. "Go pester someone else with your petty questions. I'm off to look for someone."

Was Mikan dreaming, or had Sumire's eyes turned into hearts?

"Tata!" Sumire sang, walking away happily. Mikan started forlornly after her retreating back.

After that rough shaking, she still had not gotten the answer she wanted.

What on _earth_ was Valentine's Day?

Her mind was in turmoil. Finally, she could not take it anymore and started to cry. Tears rushed down her cheeks not unlike water off a tap.

_You look 30 percent more ugly when you cry, stupid._

Mikan blinked. Hotaru. Of course! Why had she not thought of it before?

….

"Please state your name," the robot asked politely, barring the way into Hotaru's lab.

"Mikan Sakura."

The machine stared ahead blankly for a moment before speaking. "Mikan Sakura, identified. Please come in."

Mikan let out a breath she did not realize she had been holding and ventured timidly into the lab, looking at each and every one of her friend's inventions in awe. True, she had seen most of them before, but that did not stop her from appraising them both silently and out loud.

"Wow," she whispered as her eyes rested on a magnificent invention that resembled a pharaoh in all its glory. Tall and imperious, it seemed to keep its eye on her as she took baby steps across the room.

"Why are you here?" Hotaru's cool voice jerked her out of her stupor. Mikan whirled around, but she could not see her friend anywhere. Suddenly, the young inventor emerged from behind the pharaoh look-alike the brunette had been admiring, scaring her out of her wits.

"You scared me, Hotaru!" Mikan exclaimed indignantly, trying to calm her frantically beating heart. The latter did nothing but stare at her friend.

"What do you want?" she finally asked, running a hand through her short black hair. "It had better be important because I'm very busy with my new invention."

"This?" Mikan touched the torso of the invention lightly. "What is it for, anyway?"

"It contains a corpse, of course," Hotaru replied emotionlessly, as though handling corpses was the most casual thing to do. Poor Mikan freaked out at the mention of the dead body, probably rotting and emitting a dreadful stench, with empty sockets staring at her, seeking revenge….

"A CORPSE!" she screamed, backing away from the case as fast as she could. "Hotaru, how could you!"

"A _man-made_ corpse," the latter replied, frowning. "Honestly, Mikan, you should learn to listen before you open that big mouth of yours."

"Well, I'm sorry." Mikan pouted and crossed her arms. "You should have mentioned it earlier. I nearly had a heart attack back there!"

"Anyway, the corpse can travel to and fro from the realm of dreams, and is programmed to fulfill your revenge against a person by haunting one constantly with one's worst fears and nightmares. It will become increasingly worse until the person cannot stand it anymore, or the one commanding it makes it stop."

"Freaky." The brunette shuddered. "Why did you create it, Hotaru?"

"I might be able to make Ruka obey my wishes with this."

Mikan sweat dropped. Sometimes, even she could not fathom what was going in the mind of the born genius. What's more, she was supposed to be her best friend!

"I ask you for the last time, Mikan. Why are you here?" Hotaru broke into her daydreaming.

The girl blinked stupidly several times before Hotaru's words sank in. "Oh, that. I just came here to know the significance of Valentine's Day," she explained, rubbing the back of her head.

Hotaru stared at her with those unnerving violet eyes of hers, setting off warning bells in Mikan's head. Sure enough, the inventor whipped out her baka gun and shot her friend with it mercilessly.

_BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!_

"That's it?" she asked incredulously, looking down at the weeping heap on the floor.

"Y-Yes," Mikan choked out. Timidly, she reached out to touch her head and winced when her fingers brushed against three very painful swellings, courtesy of Hotaru and her baka gun.

"Do you really want to know, regardless of the price I set?"

"Hotaru!" Mikan quailed under her friend's glare. "Fine…"

In the blink of an eye, Hotaru reverted from being cruel to business-like, turning around to fumble with something behind her.

"It should be here," she murmured. Mikan craned her neck to catch a glimpse of what Hotaru was searching for, to no avail.

"Ah, here it is." She produced what looked like a packet of scrumptious cookies with fat chocolate chips decorating the surface. "Eat one."

"What are they?" Mikan asked tentatively, poking the small packet.

"Special biscuits. Eat one, and you'll know the meaning of Valentine's Day to teenagers like us."

"Really?" The brunette sounded dubious. How could one cookie help her understand that?

"Look, Mikan. Either you eat it now, or forget it and get out of my lab," Hotaru said exasperatedly.

"No! I'll eat it!" Mikan gulped and took the packet from her friend. One hand reached up and tugged at the string that kept the mouth of the plastic closed. It came off easily, allowing a tantalizing aroma to waft up her nose.

The smell dispelled her fear and she dipped her hand into the bag, picking the cookie with the most chocolate chips. Without further ado, she popped it into her mouth and started chewing it.

"It's delicious!" she squealed, chewing happily. Crumbs spewed out of her mouth and onto the floor.

Unfortunately, she forgot Hotaru's instructions and shoveled more cookies into her mouth, exclaiming softly in delight whenever she swallowed.

Hotaru's eyes widened slightly when she saw what her friend was doing. "Stop it, Mikan!" she cried, wrestling the packet out of Mikan's protesting hands. But it was too late – all of the biscuits had been eaten.

"What's wrong?" Mikan asked innocently, licking crumbs off her fingers. "They're delicious! Thank you, Hotaru!"

The latter sighed. No use crying over spilt milk, now is there? "Run along now. You'll find what you want soon enough."

"Okay, thank you Hotaru! Bye!" Mikan smiled brightly at her and ran out of the door, eager to know the effects of the seemingly ordinary cookies Hotaru gave her.

Hotaru waited until she was out of sight before calling out softly to someone hidden in the shadows.

"Nogi, I know you are there. Come out."

The person gulped and hesitated for a split second. The sound of Hotaru's baka gun made him rush out immediately to face the stoic girl.

"Hiding from girls now, are we?" she said pleasantly, catching him off guard.

"Well, yes, if you put it that way…"

Hotaru grinned and advanced slowly. The boy cowered under her gaze.

"As the price for staying in my lab without permission, you have to wear this." With that, she clapped a bracelet on his wrist. Ruka stared at it in astonishment.

"A bracelet?" He said blankly.

"Just shut up and you can stay here."

"O-Okay!"

Ruka gulped. Who would dare defy her, anyway?

….

Mikan skipped along the corridor happily, humming a random tune. Her eyes were closed as she inhaled the cool air. As a result, she bumped into someone, really hard.

"Ouch!" she groaned, rubbing her bottom. "I'm sorry!"

"I didn't mean to," a male voice quoted her thoughts. The boy extended his hand for her to take.

Mikan looked up, surprised. "Oh, it's you, Kokoroyomi!"

"Hello," he replied, smiling at her. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind and she blushed lightly, looking down demurely.

Her friend was puzzled. He tried to read her mind, to no avail. It was as though there was a barrier in her mind. All her thoughts were jumbled up and so…blurred.

When she finally looked up again, it was with a goofy smile plastered on her face, one usually reserved for fan girls. It unnerved him.

"Kokoroyomi, I-I think I…" she gushed.

"Hello! Oh, there you are, Koko!" Anna chirped, slinging her arm around his. "Hi, Mikan!"

The brunette started and stared at the pink-haired girl in confusion. After a while, she managed to snap out of her daze and smile at the two.

"Hello!" Noticing the intimacy Kokoroyomi and Anna shared between them, she grinned and added, "Are you two a couple now?"

The two teenagers blushed and nodded discreetly. Kokoroyomi read his girlfriend's mind by accident and was rewarded by complimenting thoughts she had of him.

He grinned and helped Mikan up. "Yup, we are. And thank you," he said courteously as he read her mind. "If you don't mind, we'll leave now."

"Sure," Mikan whispered, a barely-noticeable wave of nausea washing over her. "Bye…"

Her brown eyes stared after them sadly, although she did not know why. His departure had somehow touched something in her heart, and it hurt ever so slightly.

A sudden tap on her shoulder scared her. "Who is it?" she exclaimed, whirling around.

Yuu smiled benignly at her and adjusted his spectacles. "Hello, Mikan. I was just wondering, why are you alone today? Usually, you would be hanging out with Hotaru or one of the other girls…" he trailed off. "Mikan, are you alright?"

"Yes, I am," she said softly, blushing. "Thank you for your concern, Yuu!"

"Oh, Yuu! There you are!" The boy turned around to find Nonoko running towards him.

"Hello Mikan," she said breathlessly when she arrived. "If you don't mind, can I borrow Yuu for a while? We're planning to go somewhere and…Mikan, are you alright?"

"What? Yes, I am," Mikan replied slowly. What was happening to her, and why was she swooning over every guy she met? She didn't like it, not one bit.

Nonoko smiled warmly at her and waved goodbye, pulling Yuu along with her.

"So the two of you are together now," she murmured, placing a hand over her heart. Tears threatened to fall and she fought them back fiercely.

Why did she feel as though she were squeezed tightly to the point she could not breathe? No, that wasn't right. She should not be going crazy over Kokoroyomi and Yuu! They were her friends!

Dejected and confused, she walked aimlessly about the campus, allowing her feet to take her wherever they pleased. Her mind whirled with the information she had gained and her recent experiences, trying to piece them together and come up with a rational answer.

"Oof." Mikan fell flat on her face, shocking her out of her trance.

"Polka dots. Clumsy as ever, I see."

Mikan looked up to fire a retort at the boy, but the words never left the tip of her tongue. She was hopelessly captivated by his handsome looks, a face with high cheekbones and with locks of black hair brushing against it. Even the way his crimson eyes stared disdainfully down at her was somehow translated as a sympathized glance.

"N-Na…" she stuttered, at a loss for words.

Natsume raised an eyebrow. Why did polka dots not screech at him like some noisy parrot? And what was with the look in her eyes?

Slowly, Mikan crept up to him, never looking away from his face. He could not take his eyes off her, either. He was too baffled by her actions to do so. Soon their noses were dangerously close to touching. Still he did not budge.

"Natsume…I think I love you," she whispered, playing with a wayward lock of raven-black hair. _No! What am I saying?_ She thought, flabbergasted.

The boy stared at her for a long while, unmoving and eerily silent.

"Natsume, please, answer me," Mikan found herself begging against her will.

"Do you…d-do you love me?"

"…" He was speechless. No jibes rolled of his tongue, no teasing her, nada. Unknowingly, the brunette had accomplished a spectacular feat. Mikan Sakura had managed to make Natsume lose his ability to jeer, and that was saying something.

"Are you serious?" he finally said, barely louder than a whisper.

"Yes." Mikan exhaled near his nape, allowing him to feel the rush of warm air down his neck. The fire alice could hardly believe his ears.

It sounded too good to be true. _Way_ too good. In any case, he wasn't one to back out of an opportunity like that.

"Well, I am, too," he admitted slowly, wondering whether to hug her or to push her away. Mikan took care of that by snaking her arms around his thin frame, resting her head on his chest. The scent of tangerines wafted up his nostrils and he inhaled it hesitantly, still unable to grasp what was happening.

_No no no no nooo!_ Mikan screamed in her head. This shouldn't be happening!

Hotaru's face appeared dimly in her mind's eye, grinning in a subtle way that only she could accomplish.

Hotaru. Hotari Imai was responsible for her, Mikan Sakura's, actions. Mikan's heart burned with anger.

That, however, dissipated as soon as it came to life when Natsume placed his hand on the back of her head, pressing her closer to his body.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Natsume," she whispered drowsily. Oh well, this might be an effect of those godforsaken cookies, but she did not care.

_In fact, I think I enjoy it…_

Mikan smiled and snuggled closer to him. Effects of invention or not, this was the best Valentine's Day in her life.

….

I hope you enjoyed it! And now that you've read from the beginning to the end (I hope you did, anyway), mind telling me your thoughts?

The second half of this two-shot will be up when I have the time.

In the meantime, please review!


	2. Chapter 2

I am fully aware that I should be doing my homework right now, but I feel guilty about not updating for so long…so here you go. The second half of my Valentine's Day fan fiction, _Love is in the Air_. I hope you enjoy.

Summary:

Valentine's Day spells roses, confessions and tying of knots. Is that true? Well, we shall find out...now.

Mikan's batch: 13 years old.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

….

**.;"Love is in the Air";.**

Mikan was having a hard time accessing the situation she was in. What had happened? Her mind was fuzzy, like it had been smothered by a blanket or something.

The girl frowned, but did not open her eyes. What was the last thing she did before dozing off? Oh yes, she had paid Hotaru a visit to know more about Valentine's Day. Then….

Then what?

Moaning a little, her eyelids fluttered open and she looked around blearily. Judging by the serene blue sky with streaks of white, she was not in her room.

It was then that she realized the presence of a slight pressure on her left shoulder blade. She revelled in the warmth it provided for a short while and decided to investigate its source lest it was something unpleasant.

Unpleasant, indeed. To her utmost horror, she found that it belonged to Hyuuga Natsume, whose body she had been using as a pillow.

_And need I mention that it was comfy?_ A voice snickered in her head.

"Shut up," Mikan snapped without thinking. Grumbling something about having a cheeky conscience, she planted a palm on the ground to support her weight as she tried to stand up.

"Mmph."

Mikan froze, but relaxed almost immediately. It was nothing, she reassured herself. It was just the ground –

Wait, _the ground_?

Horrified, Mikan looked down. She was met by a pair of deep crimson coloured eyes. _Furious_ ones.

Natsume glared at her. The latter appeared to be petrified to the point where she couldn't move.

"Mmph."

"N-Natsume?" Mikan said faintly.

His angry eyes flashed a split second before his hand flew towards her. The brunette shut her eyes and braced herself for the harsh impact that was sure to fall upon her.

What she didn't expect was for the appendage to land on her shoulder, causing her to fall onto Natsume's body. If the small grunt that had escaped him was any indication, she had knocked the breath out of him.

A moment later, Natsume had rolled over so that he was straddling Mikan, breathing rather heavily.

"You're heavy, baka."

Mikan stared into his eyes, trying to comprehend the situation. She neither noticed the careless way he handled her petite body, nor the amusement that flickered in his crimson eyes.

Her thoughts crawled at a snail's pace in her mind. Natsume seemed to be looming above her, casting a shadow on her pale complexion. So that would mean….

Her arms were suddenly infused with inhumane strength as her mind accepted - no, _rejected_ the humiliating fact. With a bloodcurdling scream, her palms connected with Natsume's chest and he was shoved off her to land heavily on his back.

"What…were you doing…to me!" she panted, struggling to regain momentum. Natsume was on the ground several feet away from her, unfazed. Calmly, he got to his feet and dusted himself.

The boy stared at her for a long while and Mikan glared back, determined not to lose the unspoken challenge. Nevertheless, she was forced to admit that she was intimidated by him. Growling softly under her breath, she increased the intensity of her glare, only to have Natsume return it, triple-fold.

It could have gone on forever, if not for the interference of a certain inventor.

Hotaru had taken one glance, retrieved her baka gun from her bag, and fired. Precisely three bullets hit Natsume's back, causing him to fall forwards and into the arms of an unsuspecting Mikan.

"Oof!" The brunette gasped as she was thrown back by the force of the blow. Her head connected with a protruding root, knocking her out cold.

Natsume whirled around to hurl a death glare at Hotaru, who shrugged and inclined her head in his direction.

"The idiot will be under your care until she recovers," she murmured before leaving on her duck scooter.

Natsume blinked. His gaze fell on the unmoving brunette under him. One of her pigtails had come loose of its restraints, allowing stray locks of hair to partly obscure her face.

Crouching down beside her, he proceeded to shake her shoulders gently.

"Hey, polka dots, wake up."

No response.

Sighing, he slipped an arm under her prone body and carried her, bridal style, to his room. Anyone who stared at the unbelievable sight – for Natsume was not known for his compassion towards others – was met with a glare that would melt an iceberg.

Of course, their curiosity evaporated the instant they received it and they scurried away like frightened mice.

Natsume snorted and continued on his way with Mikan in his arms.

….

Hotaru had not gone very far before she was confronted by a girl whom she did not know. She appeared anxious and somewhat nervous.

"Um, Imai-san," she began, chewing on her bottom lip. Absently, she twirled a lock of her pink hair around her index finger as she searched for the appropriate words.

"I don't have all the time in the world," Hotaru said, uninterested.

"Oh! Um…I just want to know where Nogi-kun I s-so that I can give him some c-chocolate," she said at last, bowing her head to hide a blush. "A-And I was hoping you know w-where he is, since…"

The girl looked up to meet Hotaru's gaze, but all she met was a concrete pillar.

"…he's close to you," she finished in surprise. "Imai-san?"

Why hadn't she realized that Hotaru had mysteriously disappeared?

….

The wind tugged at Imai Hotaru's hair as her duck scooter raced against the direction of the wind, whistling gleefully in her ear. Now that Mikan's safety was ensured, she had nothing to be afraid of. The after-effects of the cookies were quite powerful, after all. The proof lay in the girls she had used as her test subjects (they never knew they were doing it).

Undoubtedly, many confessions had been made this year. Apparently, she was the only one among the Three Geeky Sisters who did not have a boyfriend.

It did not faze her in the least. Boys were the last things on her mind. Making money was the first priority.

Come to think of it, Ruka was still locked up in her laboratory….

Ah well. He could stay there. He had the corpse for company, anyway.

Her stomach growled, reminding her of the lunch she missed. Time to get some of her favourite crab roe. She knew she had stashed them away somewhere in her lab….

….

Ruka was facing the most miserable day of his life.

Here he was, stuck in a dim laboratory cluttered with items of all kinds, ranging from a stack of papers to a rare meteorite he found hidden amid the mess.

Why she needed one was beyond him. Then again, he should know better than to underestimate Imai Hotaru.

Over the course of two years, he had come to label her as 'dangerous' and 'approach with caution'. She had, after all, bested him ever since she took that picture of him with Piyo when they were ten. All she had to do was to wave the picture in front of his eyes and he would be forced to bend to her will.

Sometimes, he wondered why he still stuck with her. Then again, miracles do happen…. _A very unfortunate miracle,_ he thought dryly.

That girl had turned his peaceful life upside down with her entering Gakuen Alice, disrupting his and Natsume's regime. True, she was not much of a talker, but she was the source of Ruka and Natsume merchandise that their classmates would die to own.

And on top of that, her best friend just _had_ to come barging in with her loud voice and clumsy ways. Not that he minded. Natsume didn't mind either…in his dreams, that is.

His puppy love had evaporated over the years to be replaced by a new, much fresher one. The fact that this new affection he nurtured was for one of the most distant girls available didn't help at all.

Sighing, he plopped into a nearby chair to think up an escape plan. He was getting tired of seeing the same things over and over again. The drab walls that kept him inside made him feel down. How could Imai invent things in here?

Absentmindedly, he fiddled with the bracelet she had placed on his wrist before she left. Sure, it was a beautiful one, made out of a grayish-silver metal and studded with a few stones that flashed whenever it caught a beam of light.

Still, Imai should know better than to make him wear such a girlish accessory! No boy would be caught alive wearing it, that was for sure.

His fingers pressed one of the stones idly, prodding it to discover its use.

_Click._

Ruka's eyes widened when the bracelet fell apart and clattered to the floor. Black smoke started to seep out of the stone he had touched, smothering him in mere seconds.

He didn't have any time to yell before the darkness consumed him completely.

….

Nothing.

He couldn't even see his hands in front of his face, he realized as he stood up rather unsteadily. The entire area was pitch black.

Slowly but surely, fear gripped his heart as he stumbled about blindly, searching for something that would provide him some means of light and comfort.

His fingers met nothing but air.

Truly panicking now, he stretched out both arms in an attempt to turn on the lights. He was in Hotaru's laboratory, right? Yes, yes, of course he was. He didn't even step out of it.

But he _did_ press the stone on the bracelet….

What would become of him now? God, he was too young to die! He still wanted to marry and have a child, and…and…!

Wait, was that a light source?

Ruka stared as more and more light sources appeared around him. They weren't particularly bright, nor were they dim.

Gradually, they started to grow, a slow process that made his heart race. After what seemed like an eternity, all of them reached stopped growing. They were of his height by then.

Ruka had to squint to get a better look at them. They looked almost…surreal. He felt as though he could put his hand through their bodies.

Of course, he did nothing of the sort. It was lucky he didn't try, for all of them were projections of Imai Hotaru. The apparitions hovered for a moment before allowing their feet to touch the floor.

The boy was confused. Why were there so many Hotaru all of a sudden? He looked around almost tentatively. A few dozen pairs of eyes stared back at him emotionlessly, causing him to take a step back.

"Why…" he croaked. Shaking his head, he wet his lips before parting them again. "Is it really you, Imai?"

All of them laid their eyes on him. It was very unsettling.

"Um…I'll b-be going now," he announced to no one in particular. With that, he turned in a random direction and walked away, hoping to find an exit.

Wrong move.

The apparitions of Hotaru definitely weren't intangible, he realized when he walked into one of them. Gracefully, they proceeded to surround him, blocking every means of escape.

Ruka was despairing. He could neither move forward, nor backward, or in any other direction for that matter.

He was hopelessly surrounded and cornered. One Hotaru was intimidating enough; he didn't really need dozens of them.

"Care to show me the way out?" he asked. Rather pointless question, since they probably can't answer….

One of the Hotaru detached herself from her companions, regarding him with her deep purple eyes that always seemed distant to him. He tried to stop himself from trembling life a leaf in the wind. Hey, it was only one girl.

Even so, he couldn't stop himself from eyeing her warily as she approached him. Her eyes bore into him more effectively than a drill. Their proximity didn't help matters.

Ruka shut his eyes, unsure of her actions. Then---

She kissed him.

It was but a chaste one, a light brushing of her lips against his, but it was a kiss nevertheless.

Then the darkness dissolved into nothing like it had never existed. Everything – both the darkness and the rest of the apparitions – melted away with that single kiss.

….

Ruka came to a moment later, feeling the cold marble against his skin very strongly indeed. Groaning, he sat up and pressed a hand to his temple.

"And what have you been doing?" A frosty voice said above him.

He froze. Slowly, he averted his gaze from the surprisingly interesting crack on the floor to the owner of the voice.

Hotaru loomed over him with her arms crossed, her features devoid of emotion. Almost instinctively, he quailed under her stare.

Still, the feel of her lips hadn't completely left his memory – or his lips, for that matter. Rather doubtfully, he raised a finger to trace his lips, as though touching it would bring back the memory of the kiss.

Thinking back, it was almost unreal. Hotaru would _never_ kiss him. She was not like other girls, and that made her…special, in a way.

"Well?" Hotaru's icy voice jerked him out of his reverie quite harshly.

"Um, nothing! I'll be going now!" he stuttered and ran out of the laboratory as fast as he could.

He ran so fast, he never managed to glimpse the small smile that had somehow found its way to Hotaru's usually stoic face.

"Idiot," she whispered. She touched her lips lightly, where the feel of his lips still lingered. "You can't tell between a dream and reality, can you?"

….

Somewhere far away, a brunette woke up to find herself staring into a pair of crimson eyes. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she took in the expensive-looking items in the room, and most importantly, the boy who was above her with his hands planted on each side of her body.

"What are you DOING?!" she shrieked, trying to shove him off. Her flailing arms managed to hit one of Natsume's, causing him to lose his balance and fall forwards – right into Mikan's face.

For the second time that day, Mikan screamed Hotaru's name in her mind very, very angrily.

The only reason she did not scream out loud was because Natsume's cheek happened to be resting on her mouth.

_And after all this trouble, I STILL don't know the WHY we have Valentine's Day!_ She wailed inwardly.

"Ugh! Natsume you PERVERT!!!! Get off me _this INSTANT_!"

Natsume looked at her with amusement evident in his eyes.

"I see you've some chocolate for me, too, polka dots. _On your underwear_, that is."

The exasperated scream that followed his bland statement could be heard for miles around.

….

**THE END**

Okay, I hope you enjoyed it! Must get back to my pile of homework now…goodbye!

Do leave a review behind and tell me what you think! All kinds of reviews are gladly accepted, **except** for pointless flames. Those will be used to torch my homework so that my workload can be lessened. Mwahahaha.

Well, you know the drill. Click on the Submit Review button and type away!


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